CGNews #90

Below is CG NEWS #90, sent out earlier this month by UU SGM Network president Diana Dorroh.

In this issue ---- A link to a UUA funding survey, Contributions from three CG News subscribers on extra-care-required or "difficult" members, an invitation to participate in and attend the SGM Network workshop at GA and, finally, an invitation to join your peers at the Mountain for a full-week conference, August 17 - 22.


Friends,

I welcome your contributions to this newsletter at any time. Please send your submissions to office@smallgroupministry.net

The SGM Network Board has been working during March on a strategic plan and shoring up our financial base. We meet by conference call every month. The nominating committee is currently looking for new Board and committee members. If you’d like to serve or to recommend someone, let us know at office@smallgroupministry.net . There are many wonderful projects we could do with more working members.

The Network is all about sharing. Send us your sessions and your ideas. If you'll be attending the UUA General Assembly in Fort Lauderdale in June, let us know if you have some time to work in the booth.

And finally, join the Network and make sure your congregation is a member. If you are a member, you have received copies of the Winter and Spring Quarterlies. The Winter Quarterly will be available soon on our website www.smallgroupministry.net, but you can receive the Spring Quarterly now if you send in your membership.
http://www.smallgroupministry.net/pdf/Membership%20Form.pdf


UU Small Group Ministry continues to allow ministry to more members by distributing that ministry to small group leaders. The leaders in turn ask their group members to minister to each other and the result is a magnification of healing ministry. The UU Small Group Ministry Network allows us to help each other achieve our ministry goals.


In faith, Diana

Diana Dorroh
225-766-2764
President, UU Small Group Ministry Network
Editor, CG News

CONTENTS

* ASSOCIATION 2008 FUNDING OPTIONS SURVEY

* SMALL GROUP MINISTRY AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY, JUNE 25-29, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL

* SMALL GROUP MINISTRY INSTITUTE AT THE MOUNTAIN, August 17 - 22


====================


ASSOCIATION 2008 FUNDING OPTIONS SURVEY

Please consider following the link below to fill out the UUA's Association 2008 Funding Options Survey and indicating a high priority for the funding of small group ministry support. Funding for small group ministry is an option in the first question. A "1" means you give it the highest priority. Currently, there is no UUA funding for small group ministry. The Network is supported by its membership. We are currently working with interested UUA staff to create an effective working relationship between UUA staff and the Network. Funding UUA staff to work on small group ministry or funding the Network to hire staff to support small group ministry would be very helpful.

http://www.uua.org/giving/associationsunday/index.shtml

====================

SMALL GROUP MINISTRY AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY, JUNE 25-29, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL
The Network workshop is “Strategies and Solutions for Small Group Ministry Challenges” with a focus “extra grace needed” participants and hidden cultural biases that impact small group ministry sessions.

Please send us your experiences with the possibility of having them shared in the workshop or used in articles for the next General Assembly Quarterly.

Also, consider spending an hour or two fielding questions about small group ministry in the UU Small Group Ministry Network booth. Slots are available between 11am, Wednesday June 25 and 1pm, Sunday June 29. The Board will provide you with a list of frequently asked questions.
Please e-mail us at office@smallgroupministry.net. We look forward to receiving your input.

====================


SMALL GROUP MINISTRY INSTITUTE
August 17 - August 22, 2008
The Mountain Retreat & Learning Centers, Inc.
The Highlands, North Carolina

An opportunity for teams and individuals from congregations of all sizes to learn and practice Small Group Ministry (SGM) with experienced practitioners and leaders. Sessions are designed for new and experienced program organizers, facilitators, ministers and congregational leaders. The week will include presentations, hands-on workshops, small group ministry experiences, sharing, networking, informal 'porch chats, worship - and time to enjoy what The Mountain has to offer!

Details and Registration
http://www.smallgroupministry.net/events/mountain.html

====================

Contatct the UU Small Group Ministry Network

UU SGM Network Office
General inquiries and submissions

Diana Dorroh, President

Rev. Helen Zidowecki, Secretary

Susan Hollister, Treasurer

Nominate issues to explore in CGNews

Friends,

The two most popular areas of our small group ministry website are the session page and a compilation of GROUP EVALUATION forms and procedures. This compilation was the result of my asking all of you to share how you handle evaluations.

Helping to pool our wisdom and resources is, to me, the greatest value of our network and this Covenant Group News, our e-newsletter.

I'd like to invite you to nominate subjects to explore. If you could ask our 1500 readers a question, what would it be?

To nominate a question, topic or other area of interest simply fill out a comment below.

Thanks!
Peter

PS -- The UU video I made as part of my recent film/tv studies is now online. You may find it online at www.uufaq.com or directly through the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st5Pv3lsG60

CGNews #88

Covenant Group News is a free electronic newsletter on Small Group Ministry and Covenant Groups read by 1300 forward-looking Unitarian Universalists. CGNews is edited by Peter Freedman Bowden (http://www.uupanet.com) and distributed by the UU Small Group Ministry Network (http://www.smallgroupministry.net).

Contrary to popular belief our network is not funded by the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, though we did start with funding from the UU Funding Program. Reality Check: We are a grassroots organization made up of you, me, and the thousands of other UUs working with this ministry... We are funded by a membership program ($35 per individual and $60 per congregation annually). Your memberships make all the groovy things we do possible. -- Peter

IN THIS ISSUE
* Message from Peter Bowden
* New Sessions from Jolinda Stephens
* An Invitation from Skinner House Books
* New UUSC Small Group Resources
* New Sessions from Rev. Amy Bowden Freedman & Channing Church
* Subscribe/Unsubscribe

April 30th, 2007

Three years ago this June the UU Small Group Ministry Network was launched as an organization to promote and support UU small group ministries and covenant groups. We've accomplished a great deal since then, from compiling free sessions plans online and publishing the SGM Quarterly to offering GA workshops and week long Summer trainings. We have been working to build a network that can meet our shared need for small group ministry resources.

We've come a long way, but there is still much to do. Our network -- including you if you are reading this -- is a peer network. We are group participants, facilitators, coaches, coordinators, ministers and others working to deepen our faith, change lives, and heal our hurting world through this ministry. I believe the only way we can realize our potential as a movement is through strong relationships and the small groups that give rise to them. As our small group ministries grow and evolve, so too will our association. If you share this view, I'd like to invite you to become a member of our network for $35 per year.

Your individual memberships allow us to advance this ministry, to coordinate our efforts, and to move our movement. Members of our network receive the SGM Quarterly, our journal, in the mail four times per year. Please join me in creating healthy congregations and a vital Unitarian Universalist movement through our shared ministry. You may use the link below to download our membership form. If you would like to join as a congregation ($60 annually) take this form to your congregation's small group leadership.

Download Membership Form
http://www.smallgroupministry.net/pdf/Membership%20Form.pdf

New and existing members, thank you for your support! To the other ~987 of you - let us know how we can improve. If you're reading this message you must have some resource, networking or training need related to small groups. We want to hear from you.

You can post comments below.

In faith,
Peter